First things first, you need to uncover why your child is unmotivated to practice at home. When you recognize the reasons for their behavior it should become much easier to know where to focus your efforts to encourage them to practice. 

Common reasons for unmotivated children include:

● The task is not age-appropriate. 

● They are bored of the monotony of repetition. 

● They are instead motivated by resistance in an attempt to take back control of the situation. 

● They have not yet experienced the negative consequences associated with not practicing. Therefore, they are simply unaware of how they will feel when they have not practiced. 

● There may be other things that are distracting them from practicing. 

Not all children have the same interests, and it may be that your child is simply not interested in the specific instrument or skill in which they are enrolled. If you think this may be the case, you can discuss it with your child’s instructor to consider whether it may help to move them into learning a new skill or trying a different class to see if this piques their interest.

Firstly, setting goals should invariably involve your child. If you set their goals for them and then dictate for them when and how they should reach their goals, you’re practically loading them onto a train headed straight for burnout and disinterest. 

Instead, try and sit down with them or use the time you travel together to class to discuss where they see themselves taking their skills in the next six months to one year and work as a team to plan how they can achieve their goals. Even if you think they could achieve more with a little more persistence, the first step is to motivate the child and re-energize them about participating in their practices. Then you can look at encouraging them to take things to the next level. After all, slow progress is better than no progress. 

Of course, there will be exceptions, especially if your child is one of the younger ones at our school, but generally, giving children input can lead to improved motivation to practice. 

If you tend to nag when you’re frustrated (don’t worry, we’ve all been that parent at one point), maybe it’s time to just lay low for a week or two to reset. Sometimes children can become desensitized to listening to a parent tell them to practice. 

We recognize that you may worry about them being told off for not practicing or feel as though you are paying for a wasted lesson. However, sometimes the best motivation has to come from within, and you may find your child learns motivation the hard way through experiencing what the consequences will be if they don’t pracice. 

Overwhelming feelings is something many more children have been experiencing since the Pandemic. As children growing up in a world full of uncertainty, they are not immune to feeling the psychological impacts of the stress caused by a substantial worldwide disruption. Therefore, it may be that their brain does not understand their emotions, and responding to being asked to practice may be the tip of the iceberg. Consequently, it is essential to recognize if your child may be experiencing anxiety and how you can work with them and their teachers to ease them back into practicing without feeling overwhelmed by the task. 

If you would like some extra help with your child and building the confidence they need in their skill to find the motivation to practice, we also offer one-to-one coaching. In addition, private coaching can help as the teacher can go at your child's pace and help them break down their targets into manageable chunks, which they can work through as a team. 

Perhaps it may be the case that the task of practicing isn’t overwhelming but rather too easy for your child. If your child is naturally smart, they may pick up their instrument, or the principals taught in acting classes quickly. Therefore, it is likely they could feel bored by the idea of practicing. Additionally, a talented child is less likely to feel the natural negative consequences of not practicing, such as embarrassment when performing something they haven’t practiced. 

Therefore, it is important to keep your child stimulated in their extracurricular activities to ensure they are continually motivated by the task. 

Everyone is different, and what motivates you may not work for your child. The same goes for siblings. Just because your other child thrives off completing their practice homework as soon as they can, doesn’t mean their sibling will be the same. 

It's important not to press your preconceived ideas about what induces motivation in your child. Instead, spend time understanding what makes them tick and use this knowledge to your advantage. 

For example, some children are naturally motivated to succeed to show off their new skills to their parents or friends. However, some shy children may dread the idea that if they become better at their instrument, they may have to perform in front of visiting family members. Therefore, this child may need more subtle forms of motivation or a more reward-based approach. 

Hopefully, this article has given you some inspiration on injecting some motivation back into your child and encouraging them to practice. As with most things, consistency is key. Be patient and remember that slow progress is better than no progress. 

If you want to seek some more advice from us, reach out to us today. We would be more than happy to suggest the best way to help your child find their motivation to practice.